Two soldiers stepped forward. They frisked him, their hands harsh andcoarse. When one touched the urumi looped around his waist, Samson winked.
“Careful, you might cut yourself,” he said.
The soldier warily unlooped the blade and held it out in front of him as if it were a live bomb.
The general frowned. “You were supposed to come unarmed.”
“I am,now. I give my weapon, my pride and joy, to you.”
“Pride and joy of a Sesharian beggar,” the general spat. He took the blade as the soldiers stepped back.
“He’s clear, sir.”
“See, Edmund,” Samson said, reading the tag on the general’s chest. “I’m true to my word.”
With a flick of his wrist, the general snapped the blade open. It cut Samson across the cheek. A soldier drove the butt of his zeemir into Samson’s side and he gasped, doubling over in pain. There came a shout from behind, from Chandi, but Samson held out his hand.
He wheezed and peered up at the general with a bloody grin. “Well, at least we’re on a first-name basis.”
Edmund said nothing as the soldiers propped Samson up. Gingerly, Samson touched his cheek. Pain shot up his cheekbone, into his eye. Samson winced.
“You betrayed our king,” Edmund said, his mouth screwed up in distaste. “He was going to make you a Ravani king, and you slapped the hand that raised you.”
“If I remember correctly,yourking betrayedme. Partnering with the Arohassin to murder the royal family? Killing my soldiers on the wall? He never told me about that.” Samson nodded toward the north, toward Rani. “I hear now that your lot is in a stalemate with the Arohassin in the capital. Funny, how in the end, they betrayed you too.”
“Our reinforcements will be here soon,” Edmund said, his voice flat. “We’ve taken down your blackwings. Your men are outnumbered. Save us all the time, and surrender.”
“Quite the threat.” Samson grimaced. He wiped off the blood from his fingers and met the general’s gaze. “But it’s utterly unconvincing.”
“Not from where I’m standing.”
Samson cocked his head. “Are you sure?”
Edmund narrowed his eyes as he gripped the urumi’s hilt. “Make a decision.”
“I already have,” Samson answered. He stepped back and nodded up toward the sky. “Tell me, when exactly did you send for the reinforcements?”
At this, the general frowned. “What?”
Samson searched the empty sky. “A little bird tells me no reinforcements are coming.”
“You’re bluffing,” Edmund said, but before he could say anything else, a rumble echoed through the canyons. They all looked up as a blackwing streaked in from the south. It wheeled around twice, and Samson smiled at the code.
“You see, the bird tells me that no messages have gone out in the past three hours. In fact, they’ve all been intercepted, rerouted back to you.”
“Major—” Edmund turned to the man on his left, but he was cut short as loud snaps thundered through the city. One by one, the lights went out. The orb above them fizzled and died. The street plunged into darkness, and the soldiers let out little yelps.
“Hold,” Edmund cried, but then he stilled. So did his soldiers. They heard it then.
The soft hiss.
It came from everywhere. From the city center to the Black Scale front line. The fire had been creeping around them for some time, low and quiet, embers waiting to rise. Slowly, the hiss grew louder until it seemed to vibrate from the air itself. Tiny flickering flames edged Samson’s vision.
Elena had held to her promise. She had coaxed the fire, guided it as far as he had asked.
And what had she asked of him?
No more civilian deaths.
